quote · Legacy record
Were I a Roman Catholic, perhaps I should on this occasion vow to build a chapel to some saint, but as I am not, if I were to vow at all, it should be to build a light-house.[Letter to his wife, 17 July 1757, after narrowly avoiding a shipwreck; often misquoted as "Lighthouses are more helpful than churches."]
Were I a Roman Catholic, perhaps I should on this occasion vow to build a chapel to some saint, but as I am not, if I were to vow at all, it should be to build a light-house.[Letter to his wife, 17 July 1757, after narrowly avoiding a shipwreck; often misquoted as "Lighthouses are more helpful than churches."]
Approximate author period: c. 1748 AD · early modern
Meaning not yet available
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Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Benjamin Franklin
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
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- Approximate author period: c. 1748 AD · early modern
author lifetime midpoint (1706–1790)
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- Contributor-provided quotation collection
Supplied reference C; CSV row 6880; supplied attribution, independently unverified
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